Functionally Graded, Bone‐ and Tendon‐Like Polyurethane for Rotator Cuff Repair

Abstract

Critical considerations in engineering biomaterials for rotator cuff repair include bone‐tendon‐like mechanical properties to support physiological loading and biophysicochemical attributes that stabilize the repair site over the long‐term. In this study, UV‐crosslinkable polyurethane based on quadrol (Q), hexamethylene diisocyante (H), and methacrylic anhydride (M; QHM polymers), which are free of solvent, catalyst, and photoinitiator, is developed. Mechanical characterization studies demonstrate that QHM polymers possesses phototunable bone‐ and tendon‐like tensile and compressive properties (12–74 MPa tensile strength, 0.6–2.7 GPa tensile modulus, 58–121 MPa compressive strength, and 1.5–3.0 GPa compressive modulus), including the capability to withstand 10 000 cycles of physiological tensile loading and reduce stress concentrations via stiffness gradients. Biophysicochemical studies demonstrate that QHM polymers have clinically favorable attributes vital to rotator cuff repair stability, including slow degradation profiles (5–30% mass loss after 8 weeks) with little‐to‐no cytotoxicity in vitro, exceptional suture retention ex vivo (2.79–3.56‐fold less suture migration relative to a clinically available graft), and competent tensile properties (similar ultimate load but higher normalized tensile stiffness relative to a clinically available graft) as well as good biocompatibility for augmenting rat supraspinatus tendon repair in vivo. This work demonstrates functionally graded, bone‐tendon‐like biomaterials for interfacial tissue engineering.

Document Details

Document Type
Pub Defense Publication
Publication Date
Mar 30, 2018
Source ID
10.1002/adfm.201707107

Entities

People

  • Anthony William Behn
  • Benjamin Yamin Zhou
  • Burhan Gharaibeh
  • Dai Fei Elmer Ker
  • Dan Wang
  • Drew Nelson
  • Emilie Cheung
  • Evelyna Tsi Hsin Wang
  • John Kleimeyer
  • Marc Safran
  • Phil G Campbell
  • Sungwoo Kim
  • Xu Zhang
  • Yaser Shanjani
  • Yunzhi Peter Yang
  • Ángel Enrique Mercado‐pagán

Organizations

  • AO Foundation
  • Carnegie Mellon University
  • James G. Boswell Foundation
  • National Institutes of Health
  • Stanford University
  • The Chinese University of Hong Kong
  • Tongji University
  • United States Department of Defense
  • University of Pittsburgh

Tags

Readers

  • Molecular and Cellular Biochemistry
  • Reinforced Composite Materials
  • Trauma Surgery or Emergency Medicine.